Sell Your Soul
by OsuwariKawaii
Summary: When your friend gets kidnapped by an Espada, what's a girl to do? Well, discovering who I am, insulting high ranking officers and kicking ass has got to be a good start! T. English. GrimmKao ToshiKuz. LAUGHING ULQUIORRA. Adven/Roma/Frie/Hum/Action.
1. Kaori Kidnapped!

**Here's my first Bleach fic. Hope you enjoy.**

**~X~**

"Urahara!" I called harshly, lugging a box to the storage room. Snapping his fan shut, he stood up.

"Huh...?" He looked at me in a fake drowsiness. I glared at him in annoyance, a thin line forming in the crease between my lips. Groaning, I nudged him in the gut with the corner of my box.

"Where do I put this thing?" I demanded, tapping the top of the wooden container with my chin, indicating that I was talking about the box in my hands. Which, might I add, was quite heavy. The smile on his face stayed put as he pointed to an isolated corner with his cane.

"Over there." Sighing, I walked over, placed it in the corner, and pushed it back into place. Straightening myself out, I started to walk over to my simple makeshift room consisting of a double bed and a couple of candles adorning the single dresser on the opposite side of the room.

Although, before I could make it across the crammed storage area, the front door was loudly shoved open, making me raise an eyebrow in surprise."We're here to drop her off," a blond man announced from the doorway of the shop. "What? What's with yer face?" he asked lazily, pointing a finger in my direction. Sighing, I watched a dark haired girl walk out from behind an orange haired boy, before she smacked the blond upside the head.

"Be nice!" she announced with a smirk. Receiving a full grin from the blond, she laughed halfheartedly while she made her way into the shop.

Wandering over to the side, she slumped into a couch before leaning over to rest her Zanpakutō against the side of it. "This place is kinda scattered as always, don't yah think?" he asked the girl before walking over to sit on the arm of the couch the she was currently on. A scowl etched its way onto my face.

"Hey!" I called to the blond, earning his attention. "Don't insult this place! I put sweat and blood into helping out here, so shaddup! Or I will kill you until you _die_ from it, you got that!"

"Kuzai, you be nice too. This only works out well if you make it a two way street, so both of you 'shuddup' or I will not hesitate to open a can of whoop ass, ya'll got that?" She growled, receiving a slight head nod from me and the formation of a monstrous grin from her blond friend. Nodding her head slightly, she muttered before resting her head back onto the soft plush, "But to answer your question Shin, whatever floats their boat, works for me. It's not really my place to say."

"Tsk, Whatever. Why does my 'first love' have to be so mean to me?" he cried out dramatically before swinging an arm down to pick up her Zanpakutō and start to walk away with it.

"Hirako!" she called out as he began to exit the store.

"I'm taking this since yer being mean." He replied, looking over his shoulder to reveal a Cheshire-Cat like grin. "C'mon Ichigo, we've got some more training to do. See yah later Kaori."

She let out an exasperated breath and sunk deeper into the cushions as Shinji left shadowed closely behind by Ichigo."Shinji gives me way too much trouble than it's worth." She sighed, staring lazily at the ceiling.

I shrugged, "He's always been that way though. Don't you remember when we met?"

"Yeah, but it wouldn't have had to be that way if he didn't always take my things!"

"I guess that's what happens when you've known someone for as long as you two have."

"Yeah, yeah. Knowing someone for a long time means you can take their things whenever even though it can endanger them. Life lessons from Kuzai. Thanks..." she muttered. "That new Ichigo kid looks promising though. New Visoreds are fun to mess around with," she explained, waving her hands around as if it really helped the statement.

"Anything new to report?" I asked, while grabbing a stray box from the front, and walking it back into the storage room. She grunted as a reply.

When I returned into the room I found her even more sprawled out on the couch, one leg hanging off the edge, an arm draped over the back, and long dark hair hanging in every which way possible over the furniture. Last but not least, the arm that wasn't draped over the couch was lazily twirling her Hollow mask around on her index finger through one of the eye holes.

I sighed; I have no idea what they did at those training sessions to make themselves this lethargic."Well, there was this appearance," she mumbled, "Pretty much beat the shit out of a ginger kid, but it's not really anything to worry about. It's not like he'll be bothering us. Ginger says he goes by the name of Grimmjow, or something along those lines."

"I know you're more interested then you're letting on Kaori," I challenged.

She looked up, mid-hollow mask swing, and smirked, "It's not my fault I like guys who are destructive! Regardless, it has something to do with Aizen. This Grimmjow fellow has just got to be the beginning. But you of all people should know that the Visoreds are dying to get their hands on him."

"True enough." I agreed, rising up on my toes and reaching my arms up until my back cracked slightly with the effort. Curse my shortness. I decided to go with the shelf below it.

"Well," she said, tossing her mask in the air and watching it disappear, "I guess I better get going. It's getting late, and you have some lessons tomorrow don't you? I'll see you bright and early before Tessai starts your schooling then." I mentally groaned. Tessai always made this 'schooling' things too difficult. First he's late, next day he scolds me for being late when he's there an hour early than it starts, and then the next is a mystery.

"Okay." I replied as I watched her make her way over to the door. "Hey Kaori?"

She looked over her shoulder at me while she reached for a giant lollipop that was in one of the displays, "Yeah?"

"Why do you always drop by in the mornings?"

"Meh, got nothing better to do. It's also a nice way to start the day, well unless I'm late and Shinji starts his bitching. I swear, he's such a girl sometimes! Anyways. when you've been around as long as I have, you learn to find joy in the simple things." She said with a smile before somehow managing to shove the whole giant item of candy into her mouth.

"Oh," I whispered. "Well, you don't look a day over seventeen to me!" I added.

"Yeah, yeah." She muttered through the candy as she waved a hand dismissively and walked out into the night to take her leave, I let out a deep breath. Closing the door behind her I turned around only to come face to chest with Urahara. Yes, I'm just that short. If you're wondering, four-foot-three and a half.

"What?"

"Something doesn't feel right," he replied, ruffling my hair again. "But, it's nothing you should worry about. You should get some sleep," he ended in a mumble. Nodding my head, I wandered over to my room and then over to my closet. Quickly sorting through the racks of clothing, I pulled out my pj's and changed into them. Setting down my worn clothes on the floor next to my bed, I laid down and stared blankly at the plain white ceiling.

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh, but before I could fall to sleep a wave of discomfort vibrated through my body. A feeling of being crushed and pinned in place, but there was nothing that I could do about it.

Soon, it faded, along with some spiritual pressure that had been there. Though I knew something important had happened, I just couldn't put my finger on it. Needless to say, I had a hard time getting to sleep. I kept tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable. Soon, my eyes drooped and stayed shut, leaving me drifting into the dark abyss.

**_In Karakura; Just Rewind A Tad.  
><em>****_Third Person POV_**

A girl with dark hair exited the small shop and entered the street. Popping out the enormous lollipop that she had in her mouth, the twirled it around while she started to shuffle down the road. Letting out a sigh, she slowed down her pace and her walk became more of a lazy crawl. If only she wasn't so tired, she'd know what was around her. She did feel a strange spiritual pressure, one similar to her own, but somewhat different, but instead of taking note, she just shook it off. Finally reaching the front doorway of her small apartment complex, she entered the building and hurried into her small home. She then tossed her keys onto a small table beside the door and walked into the tiny living area. Wandering over with the intentions of plopping down onto the couch, she only then realized that she wasn't alone.

A tall, dark figure loomed beside a wall. "Heh, you'll do," they began. The teenager gasped and almost dropped the over-sized candy she had in her hands. "Kaori Fujiwara."

Kaori tensed. "You're Grim-" she managed to get out before the man was behind her and had kicked down her knees from behind, resulting in her dropping to the floor. Flipping herself over onto her back, Kaori reached to her left for the hilt that wasn't there. Grunting in frustration, she tightened her grip on the item in her hand; the stick of the lollipop. Rolling over backwards and onto her knees, she quickly stood up and tried to gain some distance between herself and the Espada.

Wasting no time, Grimmjow was across the little distance that Kaori had made and behind her in a fraction of a second. Straining her neck to see what was behind her she sprang forward while raising her hand up towards her face. But before her feet met the ground again her wrist was roughly grabbed and she was pulled over to the side. Hearing a sickening snap she screamed as the broken bone was moved further by the man cloaked in shadows, swiftly changing hand positions, grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder."Put me down!" She screamed, jabbing the stick of the lollipop into random spots in the man's back.

"Shut up," the blue haired man growled, "Unless you want me to break something else." Fidgeting slightly, she licked the candy until it became extremely sticky before reaching her arm up to smack it against mans head.

"Make me!" She mocked, while wiggling to aggravate the man further. Letting out an animalistic noise from somewhere deep inside his throat, he roughly dropped the girl onto the floor and stomped on her stomach. Receiving a breathy gasp, he quickly made his move to knock her out before stopping to reveal a large smirk in the darkness.

"That was too easy." The man sneered while slapped he a note on the wall and picked up the unconscious girl. Opening her front door without a sound, both the man and his captive disappeared out of the house.

**Cliffie... I think ;P**

**ErinEhmazing beta'd it so... review. Review or feel the wrath of... air. Yeah...**


	2. I'm A Soul Reaper?

I woke up early, standing up and stretching, hearing the vertebrae in my back pop. Rotating my neck, I swiftly cocked it to the left, popping the atlas. Pain surged through my neck, but it soon went away and was replaced with comfortable flexibility.

Ridding myself of my worn PJ's, I got out a gray tank top and black, knee-length shorts, along with a fresh pair of undergarments.

After combing out the gnarls in my dirty blond hair with my fingers thoroughly and dressing myself, I walked out of my room, while lazily yawning only to bump into the blond man that Kaori was with on many occasions. He was here just last night, but what was his name?

"Hirako?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the memory of Kaori calling out to him by using that name as he took her Zanpakuto before exiting the store. Behind the blond was the orange haired male who I instantly recognized as Ichigo.

"I prefer Shinji, shortie," he sneered. I growled.

"Don't make fun of my height, you son of a-" I began.

"Are yah gonna insult me, or are yah gonna listen to what I have to say about _yer _friend?" the tall blond countered. I froze.

My mind going into an instant panic, my eyes shot to the tiny parchment in his hand. "Wh-what happened to Kaori?" Making a grab for the piece of paper, he quickly countered by pulling that hand up and unfolding the paper far out of my reach. "Tell me what happened to her!"

"Show her the note, Shinji," Ichigo sighed. Rolling his eyes, Shinji handed me the paper.

_I took Kaori Fujiwara with me to Hueco Mundo. If you want her back, you'll have to fight me._

_-Grimmjow_

I stared at the note. Kaori was kidnapped. She looked so tired when she came into the shop... and I didn't offer to let her stay. I felt as if the whole world was glaring at me, and air itself was thickening.

"Well in that case," a voice stated from behind me. I turned. "We're just going to get her back." I stared back at Kisuke Urahara.

Two figures appeared from the doorway behind him. One had turquoise eyes and white, spiky hair. He stood... about half an inch taller than me, which wasn't very tall at all. The other had long, wavy orange hair that fell around a large bust. She had pale blue eyes and a beauty mark located under the right side of her mouth.

"Captain, look! She's shorter than you!" the woman cooed. I glared, but decided to say nothing.

"Rangiku, you need to keep quiet," the male warned. She pouted and silenced. Kisuke waved to us, signalling for us to follow. Doing so, we were lead to a large room with large rocks and a seemingly endless blue sky.

_It's like a beautiful day in hell, _I mused mentally. Eyes racking over my surroundings, they finally came back to stare at Urahara, who was currently raising his cane. Then without warning, the end of Urahara's cane smacked right between my eyes, and I suddenly saw myself fall. Yet I was still standing. Looking down at myself, I saw that I was in black attire with a blue obi tied around my waist and a Zanpakuto hanging upside-down, hilt and guard on my right side.

The hilt was made out of red and gray intertwining cloth, which made a weave-like pattern. The guard was rectangular, approximately three-by-four inches, and was several shades lighter blue than my obi. It had a metallic shine that made it seem almost like a shallow puddle in a hole of concrete.

Another obi tied from the right side of my waist, over my small bust, and to the backside of my pelvis. Supposing to keep the midnight black sheath and its companion in place. I turned to Urahara. "I'm a... Soul Reaper?" He nodded, his trademark smile gone and replaced with an indifferent frown.

"Listen, Chibi, yah should've known that yah were a Soul Reaper from the start," Shinji said. I glared imaginary daggers at him, hoping they would manifest and stab him.

"How so?" He snickered and grinned lazily.

"Well, for starters, yah should remember Soul Society." No bell rang, I just looked at him blankly, expressing my confusion. "Yah don't remember?" I shook my head. Sighing, he narrowed his gaze and redirected it to look me straight in the eye. "Tch. What _do _yah remember?"

"I remember waking up in an alley not too far from here and Kisuke found me, thinking I was Ururu's age," I replied honestly.

"Captain, seems you and her share sympathy," the woman, that I later learned was named Rangiku, giggled. Shrugging off that comment, I drew my Zanpakuto, examining the blade. The back side of the sharp metal was dull, mostly for minor injuries and deflecting or blocking attacks. The front side was sharp to deliver blows.

Turning to the veteran Soul Reaper, I asked, "So.. Now what?"

"Tch. This is such bullshit! I'm not stickin' around while yer playin' Soul Reaper!" Shinji exclaimed in a dramatic rush as he threw his hands up in the air before he turned on his heels and stomped out of the new environment. Ichigo stared after the blond before turning back to us and shrugging. Excusing himself, he took off in a light jog after his frustrated teacher.

"Wha-" I started before Urahara lifted up his hand to stop me.

"Shinji and Kaori have known each other for a long time, as you know. Back when.. _it_ happened, Kaori was an unseated officer in Shinji's division. She was _his_ responsibility, and he still sees it that way. Even though they seem like they're on even terms, its clear that he tries to take care of her." he explained. "He thinks its his fault.." Urahara mumbled frowning at the thought.

"When what ha-" I managed to get out before I was cut off by the smile returning to his face as he seemed to fade. Suddenly he was behind me, swinging his cane at me- and not the way senile elderly people do. This was it, let's go.

Swiftly turning, I blocked with my Zanpakuto, using the cane as a push off to gain distance between us. "I'm going to teach you how to be a Soul Reaper." He announced.

My mouth opened, my lips forming a deranged O. Then it closed. "But what if Shinji's right! We don't have time for this! We have to go after Kaori!" I exclaimed while Urahara rushed me again, which I barely managed to dodge.

"We'll get to that!" he said. I glared at him. "After the lessons are over."

"Well then Urahara," I began, smiling and accepting my fate. "School me."

It was my turn to rush him, using the giant rocks as various places in an attempt to fake him out. But, as a fail on my part, I just now found out my pant legs and sleeves were too long, and my sleeve caught on the rock as I tripped over the edge of the pant legs. Greaaaat.

I held the katana in front of me, remembering Kaori saying something about how each Zanpakuto has a name. _Think, dammit, __**think!**_ I thought, closing my eyes in concentration. I tried to center my reiatsu and connect with the sword. When my eyes cracked open, I saw that I was no longer in the room under the Urahara shop. I was in a clearing with small trees in the vicinity. However, the sky was velvet red. The grass beneath my feet shone emerald, and it was soft, but very cold. Well, that was lucky.

"_Hello?_" I called, wandering around the clearing.

The black leaves on the trees swayed, a few departing from the branches and floating through the air. "_Finally you've found your soul reaper powers,_" a man's voice behind me spoke. It sounded timid, frightened, but calm at the same time. Turning towards the voice in hopes to catch a glimpse of him, I saw that he had a black button-up shirt with the sleeves cut off to look like a wife-beater, black sweats that were somewhat tight, and dark grey sandals. His face was graced with dull onyx eyes and raised brows, his lips twitched into an uneasy smile. Brown hair hung loosely around his face, adding elaborate shadows to his already dark features. "_I am Shinobikizu, your Zanpakuto._"

"_Shinobikizu? ...Stealth Wound?_" Shinobikizu nodded.

"_I allow you to move at inhuman speeds once you release my Shikai, and allow you to strike those who aren't on their guard completely. For those who are, you can evade them if you are ready. Now, if you want to defeat your 'teacher,' you need to learn Shikai. To release it say: 'Strike, Shinobikizu'"_

Nodding, I started drifting away from the dreary place and back into reality. I allowed my real eyes to snap open as I glanced at the blade.

"Have a nice nap?" Urahara teased. I smirked, seeing him look at me in confusion.

"Strike, Shinobikizu," I mumbled. My Zanpakuto glowed before the faint light died out, and the blade disintegrated before I saw specks of silver surround my arms.

_**Don't worry about your sleeves or pant legs, Kuzai**_ I heard Shinobikizu's voice reassure. Taking a step, I realized that after five steps I was already behind Urahara. But he was already four steps ahead of me.

Turning, he hit me in the gut with the handle of his cane, rendering me breathless. Shinobikizu returned to his katana state, but losing my grip on the hilt, he fell to the ground.

"Lesson one, complete.. More or less." Kisuke said in satisfaction.

**_Third Person POV: Hueco Mundo_**

Kaori woke up with an aching head and stomach, not to mention a swollen wrist."Where are we?" she asked, while she watched the hallway go by her backwards when she remembered she was kidnapped by the sexta Espada. Taking a sharp turn, Grimmjow walked into a dark room.

"Las Noches," he replied bluntly, rolling his eyes upward to the large oval of candy that he still hadn't gotten out of his sky blue hair.

Deciding to make best out of the uncomfortable situation, she let out a mock gasp and tried her best to hide a smile. "You lost your nachos! We have to go find them!" she exclaimed in fake despair while she wriggled around for emphasise. A man in white-matching the attire of Kaori's captor, with some differences- with pale skin and teal lines running under his green eyes, and a black upper lip walked past the doorway and stopped once he was in their lines of sight.

The first thing this Espada noticed was the girl on the man's shoulder. The second thing was of course the wooden stick that was standing out from behind the bluenette Espada's head.

"Ulquiorra, I brought this woman as a lure to the Shinigami Ichigo so I can fight him," the blue-eyed man said, a sadistic smirk crossing his mouth. Said girl took the opportunity to crank her neck around the side of Grimmjow's torso to get a look at the new arrival. Getting a good look, she dropped her head back down and waited to be put down. Or at least for Grimmjow to turn around, because people having conversations when facing your ass is lovely.

"Grimmjow, I'm not sure that's the best idea," Ulquiorra reasoned in monotone, though it took all his will not to crack a smile. Not taking it anymore, the cuatro Espada took his leave, only to burst into hysterical laughter at his comrade's mishaps. It was all too funny that Grimmjow had kidnapped, quite possibly, one of the only people that Kurosaki didn't know. The lollipop was just a bonus. Grimmjow tensed.

"That's not good," he said, staring ahead. Kaori took the liberty wiggle once more and ask,

"Why?"

"He. Never. Laughs."

"Maybe it's because you have a jumbo lollipop on your head, but that's just me," she countered. Then the Visored pointed awkwardly and poked the disk of hardened candy, reminding him of what happened.

Sighing in embarrassment, he mumbled a quick "Shut the hell up, woman." Before flipping her off his shoulder and watching her land flat on her ass.

**I think that's good for now! Leave a review! :D**


	3. Bittersweet Memories

_This is ErinEhmazing by the way & this is kinda long, but I'd say its just a lot of dialogue..  
><em>

Fake skies. Real skies. In this place, it is hard to tell the difference between the two. Time drags on and it's hard to keep track of anything.

Simple commands; inhale, exhale, and finish the drill. So simple, and yet, why won't my body do what I want?

Letting out a sigh I looked back up into the sky before I closed my eyes so they wouldn't be able to start watering. Everything wasn't working fast enough.

Just finish the drill.

"You're at your limit."

Cracking an eye open and turning my head slightly to the left, I watched as the small white haired boy got up from his seat on a nearby rock and walked over to where I was. Extending an arm out towards me, he grabbed my arm and hauled me up from my previous position. At least he understood that I couldn't do a thing flat on my back in the dirt.

Waking me over to my body, he let me fall into it before repeating his previous actions but this time adding in a quick movement to sling one of my limp arms over his shoulders.

Urahara had had me do a drill to test my newly awaken Soul Reaper skills. Only I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't progressing fast enough.

Training wasn't running as smooth as it could be resulting in me ending up flat on my back time and time again. No Shikai, and certainly no Bankai. At this rate, by the time I was ready to head to Hueco Mundo, anything horrible that could happen to Kaori would already have happened. Sure I'd only gotten my Soul Reaper powers back this morning, but I'm not stupid.

No rookie is going to win against an Espada.

I wasn't moving forward fast enough and the more time I wasted trying to learn - quite possibly relearn -the more I began to believe that Shinji was right. There was no time for me to waste 'playing Soul Reaper'.

"This is your room right?" Toshiro asked upon entering the doorway of my room.

Nodding my head slightly, we continued into my room.

I never realized how much I blank out when I let my mind wander. I'll have to keep track of that.

"Well.. Goodnight." he said awkwardly while he helped me sit on my bed.

"You too." I replied sleepily as I laid my head back onto my pillow.

Exiting the room quietly and shutting the door behind him, I stared up at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh. Reaching down under my bed, I pulled out my remote and turned on the small television sitting in the corner of my room. Switching it to a channel that was covering some random ghost story, I let my mind wander once again.

_**"Mind Wandering"/Flashback:**_

My lungs were aching. The one thing I hated the most about Hollows is that when you're running away from them, people just look at you like you enjoy running at top speeds down the street. Little do they know I'm amazing.

That was narcissistic, but this is my memory, I'm allowed to be.

Taking another sharp turn, I ended up in a park that currently didn't have any children in it. Perfect.

I ran into the playground area only seconds before the raging Hollow came bounding around the corner after me.

Going out for an errand for Urahara was a normal thing. Running from Hollows, was unfortunately another normal thing, but_ normally_ I wasn't alone. In fact, this was the first time I'd encountered a Hollow alone and let me just say now, I was not prepared in the slightest.

The Hollow jumped and landed right beside the playground and I scrambled to start running away from the playground that was destined to be demolished by it. Tripping and falling like the klutz I am, I quickly turned around only to come face to face with the one thing that I wanted to be as far away from as possible.

I watched it open its mouth before I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for it to be all over. But the end never came. Only the sound of a fight a little distance over.

Slowly opening my eyes I watched as a girl with long, dark hair complete with a strange mask attacked the Hollow with a.. Dart?

Charging in on it, the Hollow blocked her strike with its arm, which she easily used as a platform to flip off of. Jumping away backwards and flipping head over heels she turned slightly to wave at me before she flicked her other wrist to the side to send the dart flying.

The Hollow extended its arm to swipe at her in one last attempt to hit her, which she dodged by, what looked like to me, moving her head slightly. The dart landing square between her enemy's eyes, she landed on top of a car that was currently parked by the entrance of the park.

Taking off her mask, she jumped down and muttered something that sounded like 'I hate you' before she made her way over towards me.

Out stretching an arm towards me and helping me to my feet, she cocked her head to the side before she held out her hand once more.

"Kaori."

"Kuzai," I replied while shaking her hand. "Thanks a lot. You're amazing, you didn't even get hit!"

"Meh, it was noth-" she managed to get out before bits of her bangs fell down to the ground. Looking up at her face I realized that her bangs were now cut erratically and uneven.

"Oh awesome," she remarked while staring up at her forehead. "Well, I gotta get going, but maybe I'll see you around?"

Staring after her dumbfounded I watched her run back towards the parked car and climb into the passenger seat before it turned on and sped away.

**_Third Person POV, Hueco Mundo_  
><strong>

Putting a hand up to her bangs, she played with them absentmindedly, which was odd since she never did that. Looking out through them, she watched the blue haired Espada wander around the empty room while he tried to remove the lollipop from his hair.

Putting out her bottom lip, she blew up and made her bangs return to the slightly swept style that they were before she was roughly dropped.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself off the ground with her left hand, carful to not put any weight on her broken right wrist.

"So," she began while watching the Espada absentmindedly, "Who was that?"

"Ulquiorra." Grimmjow replied after a short grunt that was caused from him tugging on the candy.

Kaori smiled, "Are you guys best friends or-"

"Absolutely not." He spat back, grimacing at the thought.

"And why is that?" she asked while slowly walking around the dark room.

"Does it matter?" he growled back through his teeth.

Kaori's eyebrows met in the middle of her face as she tried to figure out the reason for that reaction. Relaxing her face a bit, he watched the man turn towards the doorway only for her to notice a large number six tattooed on Grimmjow's lower back.

"And.. What's the tattoo about?" she asked knowing that all the talking was making Grimmjow more irritated by the second. But it didn't matter, she was a captive, and you can't kill your captive. All right, you could, but that wasn't what she was telling herself at the moment.

"It's my rank as an Espada." He replied bluntly while turning on his heels to face the girl.

Primera, segunda, tres, cuatro, quinto,

"Sexta." She stated while raising an eyebrow. She received a slight head nod in return. "So, what's the ranking of your bee-eff-eff?"

"Cuatro. Four," He answered. "I don't like the way he is. The way he looks down on me, anyone who.. Never mind."

"So, you're saying if I was to look down on you, you'd-"

"I'd kill you. Plain and simple."

"Well then!" she announced while making her way towards the man. "I'm not looking down on you but, would you like me to, I don't know, remove that for you?"

Hearing a low grunt in return, she quickly removed the candy from the mess of blue hair that sat on top of the mans head.

"There you go!" she replied with a sweet but fake smile.

He grumbled quick thanks while Kaori planted herself back onto the floor.

"So.. Do you guys play like, endless amounts of ping pong here?" Kaori asked from her position on the ground.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Grimmjow snapped.

"Well, you have all these _holes _right? It's the perfect size to do something like.. This!" she answered while biting off a chunk of the hard candy and tossing it perfectly through Grimmjow's abdomen.

"I swear I'm going to kill you!" he growled as he swiftly turned and lunged down towards Kaori on the floor.

Rolling over to the side, Kaori barley dodged the man as he reached out for the lollipop. Tossing the candy sideways just as he went to grab it again and turning slightly, Grimmjow ended up grabbing her broken wrist instead of the lollipop that had been her other hand.

Yelping a little, Kaori rammed her left hand up and hooked it underneath the Espada's mask. Quickly pulling the mask roughly away from his face she earned herself a deep growl that made her spine tingle. But her being moved towards to nearest wall shortly followed the growl.

Picking her up and shoving her forward, he slammed her back into the cold, stonewall.

Kaori took this time to reflect on one thing: Don't. Touch. The mask.

"You're so breakable its not even funny," He half screamed into her ear, "How are you going to defend yourself if someone else finds you? Did you know that you're technically not supposed to be here? If I don't end up killing you first, someone else of higher rank will gladly do it for me! I don't have any Fraccion running around here anymore to look out for you, so don't go thinking that you can just act like you live here! You got that?"

She fought the urge to point out the fact that he had said 'look out for you' instead of 'look out for me', and nodded her head instead.

Grinning so wide it rivaled a grin of Shinji's he backed away and let her slide back onto the floor.

"Besides candy removal, you're completely useless!" he scoffed.

"Well you're the one who broke my wrist, and besides, I don't even have my Zanpakuto." She mumbled.

"What was that?" he barked back.

"I. Don't. Have. My Zanpakuto. But oh joy, I have a broken wrist."

"Tch, as if you can even do anything with it. I heard you were an unseated officer, so how could you even put a scratch on me now?"

"I could try." She replied in a huff.

"You could try? Right, that's just not going to cut it here. Can you even release Shikai?"

"I don't know." She mumbled back. "Never tried it."

"I'll teach you then."

"What?" she asked in confusion, "Wait, what's in it for you?"

"You're not in any condition to be asking any questions right now, now are you?"

"But-" she stopped herself as she watched Grimmjow place one hand onto his forehead and let it fall to partially cover his eyes. Kaori guessed all this thinking was giving him a headache and fought the urge to smile.

"Where is it?"

Kaori raised an eyebrow in question.

"Where is your Zanpakuto woman? I can't have you hanging around here like a sitting duck when I'm not around to make sure nothing happens."

_Oh Grimmjow, I didn't know you cared so much! _She wanted to coo, but she thought better of it.

"Shinji has it."

"And what does this Shinji person look like?"

"Chin length blonde hai - wait! What are you planning to do!"

"Calm down. I'm just going to get it back the next time I'm in Karakura town."

"Don't you dare hurt him!"

"Well if he ends up getting in the way, I'm not responsible for anything that happens. But I suppose I'll try my best if it shuts you the hell up."

Nodding her head slightly, she watched as he turned around and started walking towards the door once more.

"Heading off to meet with Aizen for my punishment. Tch, whatever. I'll be back soon, try not to miss me too much. And don't let anyone see you."

She let out a deep sigh and leaned further into the wall. Shuffling over to the side, she made her way into the corner. _Her _corner. No one could change that, damnit!

Looking back up towards her forehead, she laughed at the memory of when she first met Kuzai and had gotten her bangs slashed in such an odd way.

Thinking back to it now, that had also been the day when Shinji finally got his haircut.

**_One Year Ago_  
><strong>

The door to Kaori's small apartment was suddenly slammed open. Looking up from her couch in mild surprise, she found Shinji Hirako standing in the doorway taking in deep breaths.

"What took you so long?" she asked, a playful smile appearing on her lips.

"Y-You, duct tapped my rental car to a pole!"

"Well of course I did silly, now are you just going to stand there and complain, or are we going to go meet up with the others?"

"Suddap! How do yah even find time to do this Kaori?" Shinji asked dumbfounded.

"Your haircut was taking too long, so I improvised when I went out to the parking lot."

"Yer crazy. How did you even figure out that duct tape could hold a car?"

"Mythbusters, duhh."

"What the hell is tha-? Oh I don't even care! I'm too tired for this Kaori. Do we have to go meet up with them, or can we just hang around yer place?"

"You're the one who makes the practices, so c'mon."

"But I'm tired! Are yah sure its safe for me to drive, I mea-" Shinji stopped halfway to realize that he wasn't going to win this argument. "Fine. Then I'm taking yer Zanpakuto, and there is nothing yah can do about it!"

And with that, he reached out and grabbed Kaori's Zanpakuto that was conveniently leaning up against a table near the doorway.

Getting up off the couch, Kaori let out a sigh, grabbed her keys and followed the blond man out to his car. Tiny bits of duct tape that he couldn't remove from the sides of the car by hacking at them were still in place.

Letting out a small snicker, she hopped into the passenger seat of the car and waited for Shinji to start driving away. Feeling the car bounce a little, she heard the driver's side door slam shut and the engine turn on.

Tires screeched lightly on the concrete as they drove towards whatever location they had set up a rendezvous for the rest of the Visoreds.

"Kaori I'm tired, I swear, this is not goin' ta end well. I can tell yah that much right now."

"I'm sure we'll be fine, your haircut wasn't that long, quite a few hours yes, but you're in good shape to be drivi-"

"TREE!" Shinji yelled as he swerved over to the side of the road.

Recovering from the slight throbbing in her temple from smacking her head up against the window, she cranked her neck behind her to get a glimpse of the road. Rolling her eyes at Shinji's stupidity, she decided to double check.

Well, it was confirmed. There was no damn tree in the middle of the road.

Turning her attention forwards again, she looked over at Shinji who was breathing erratically but had his eyes closed. Letting out a sigh, Kaori started to relax until she noticed the small green air freshner shaped like a tree hanging on the mirror. Maybe Shinji was as tired as he said he was.

Rolling her eyes once more, she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Well not really the corner, it caught her full attention.

A Hollow chasing down a small blond girl in a playground. Shinji had swerved right into the grassy hillside that surrounded one of Karakura towns many parks. Reaching for her Zanpakuto, Shinji cracked open his eyes, grabbed it first and extended his arm away from Kaori so that she couldn't reach.

"Nah uh uh, yah were being mean. Yah don't get to have this. But.. Here." He announced while leaning towards the backseat to grab whatever item he could find.

Staring at it with a raised eyebrow, Kaori sighed and grabbed the dart from Shinji before opening the door.

"Have fun." Her blond friend declared as she slammed the door and ran off towards the Hollow.

**_Present Time (Hueco Mundo)_  
><strong>

Leaning her head up against the wall, she closed her eyes and waited for Grimmjow to return. Sure, she wasn't at all pleased with the situation but she was going to make the best of it. Besides, until she had her Zanpakuto it wasn't like she could do much.

Cracking open an eye towards the still open doorway, she took in a sharp breath.

Why Grimmjow hadn't closed the door was beyond her thinking, but now she was faced with one of the situations that would quite frankly cause her the most problems.

Standing in the doorway was a backlit silhouette of a woman. An unknown female who could want to kill her for no particular reason at all was standing just a couple meters away.

Leaving her place in the doorway, she made her way over to Kaori before taking a seat beside her. Redirecting her gaze so she was looking to the side from under her hair, Kaori was surprised to see the Hueco Mundo resident smiling back at her.

"Did I scare you?"

Turning her full attention to the suspicious looking girl, Kaori raised an eyebrow in question.

"My name is Ayano and I'm the only member of Ulquiorra's Fraccion. You've met him right?"

Taking a moment to let everything sink in, Kaori nodded her head in response. Looking over at the person sitting beside her, Kaori took in Ayano's features and tried to put them to memory.

Ayano had dark brown, bust length wavy hair that tumbled out from behind the remains of her hollow mask that was covering a little of the front portion of her forehead. A white top that left enough covered to be taken seriously next to Ulquiorra covered her upper half, while white, tightly fitting pants that resembled skinny jeans hugged down from her waist until they bunched up slightly at the ankles where they started to meet with a pair of standard Hueco Mundo shoes.

"Good!" she replied happily before patting Kaori on the head and helping her to her feet.

"Is there.. Something that you need?" Kaori asked, a little unsure of herself.

"Not really," Ayano admitted, scratching the back of her head sheepishly, "Ulquiorra is just going out into the world of the living and I need a good distraction."

"A distraction? Why?"

"He's going off to get some useless human. I hate it! I always have to stay behind because, like you," she paused to jab Kaori in the ribs, "People don't know I'm here. Although, in your case, Grimmjow is doing a very poor job."

"Yeah," Kaori said absentmindedly. A useless human eh? Who would be a-

She stopped herself before she got angry at not realizing the obvious.

"Orihime Inoue?" Kaori scoffed back

"Yeah her! Do you know her?" Ayano asked, a scowl etching its way onto her face.

"Well, I met her once. She's not exactly.. Something I'd go into the human world for. In fact, I'm pretty sure there are tons of people who could fill in the slot labeled 'Dumbass'."

Ayano giggled at the others bluntness, "I've only heard bits and pieces of reports on her, so it's nice to have something confirmed. Kaori? I think we're going to get along just fine." She replied with a genuine smile.

"Yeah, me too." Chirped back Kaori. At least one thing was going right. "So, you're _not_going to kill me?"

Ayano shook her head and smiled a little bit back at Kaori.

It was at this time that Kaori realized that Ayano was the perfect counterpart for Ulquiorra; well at least in the personality department. She had some while he seemed to be lacking, and that made all the sense in the world to Kaori.

Suddenly, Ayano's head snapped towards the doorway.

"Ahh.. I'll drop by the next time I can. Ulquiorra is going to be gone for a couple of days and it's not like I can just walk around and talk to anyone. I gotta g-"

"Wait, what? What's going on?" Kaori replied in a rush.

"Grimmjow is coming back, and as much as I would _love_ to stay and chat, its really for the best if I leave.. _Now._" Ayano finished almost as quickly as Kaori replied.

And with that, Ayano was completely out of Kaori's sight. It was only moments after that, that Kaori could hear a quiet mumble along with footsteps coming from down the hall. As the footsteps came closer, she was able to start making out the words

'Damnit, damnit, damnit, damn! Damnit, damnit..'

Until the words were being said from the doorway.

Looking up towards the doorway, she couldn't help but let out a tiny yelp and cover her mouth with her hand.

Leaning up against the doorway was Grimmjow, panting and looking livid as he used the frame to help him regain his balance as the spot where his left arm should be, bled profusely.

_So, Osu has been having some difficulties with her computer so this chapter was written by me in her time of need ;P  
>The chapter was a bit longer than the others since it takes longer for me to explain things compared to Osu, so sorry if that was a pain.<br>So please __**REVIEW, **__it gives her the strength to go on~_


	4. AntiCero Spray Is A Good Investment

**Okay, so as you are aware, of my computer problems, so I'm having ErinEhmazing (who, by the way, **_**is **_**amazing) update everything, for alas, I am but a damsel in technological distress.  
><strong>  
>Well I got to admit, I'm pretty happy with the results of my training thus far. Sure, it was hard, but at least I was making some progress.<p>

Yeah right. That's the type of thing I would have said if this was in anyway, shape or form a positive situation. But its not, so let me recap a little.

Waking up the morning after my first training session had been a nightmare. Not only was I sore whenever I moved, but I had Urahara who was making me do immense amounts of drills over and over again.

To make matters worse, there was Shinji who would walk into the training area every few hours or so, watch me land flat on my ass, glare, and then storm out.

His actions only made things harder. I had doubt in my mind about how things were working, and his reactions were less than encouraging. But, I couldn't find it in myself to dislike the man that Kaori had been so close to. Every time he walked in, he was holding onto her Zanpakuto. Every time he saw me fall, his grip would tighten and his gaze would harden.

I didn't understand why he kept carrying it around. It was almost as if he thought it would help bring her back or something. Maybe it was his way of keeping a connection to her.

Now that I think about it, why hadn't he gone to Hueco Mundo himself already? And another thing, Urahara has said that 'he thinks it's his fault. His fault for what? Her kidnapping, or something else?

The more times he showed up, the more those questions kept popping up in my head. I wasn't going to ask them. No, not without Kaori here to calm him down incase he got rattled. But I couldn't help but wonder.

A couple days went on like this. Urahara running drills, Toshiro watching silently, Rangiku talking away, and the others doing whatever needed to be done.

Captain Hitsugaya was doing his best to help me out, but for the most part I couldn't help but feel like a nuisance to everyone. Rangiku and Toshiro could both handle Grimmjow's Fraccion one on one, by themselves, just like the other lieutenants and captains that were there.

But me? What could I do? Fall into the dirt again? How did I even expect to take on a full-fledged Espada by myself anyways? However, never underestimate shorties.

But in a way, things were looking up.

It had been a couple days since I had learned Shikai, a skill that I was quite proud of, and five days in total since Kaori had gone missing.

The first had been the day that Kaori was taken. Second, being the continuation of my training. The third had surprisingly been the day I (somehow) unlocked Shikai. And the next two days led up to now.

You're probably thinking 'Wow Kuzai, you're really doing great, you'll be there in no time' but you'd be wrong.

I've unlocked Shikai once.

No matter what I did, I just couldn't seem to find the link to make it work again. Because of this, the training had been bumped up in difficulty, and it wasn't making unlocking Shikai any easier. And worse, blisters were forming along my hands from the hilt of Shinobikizu running up against the palms of my hands, making him hard to wield.

I collapsed on the dirt for the third time today. Shinobikizu was frozen to my hand, forced into his katana state. Every muscle burned, and every breath ignited a flame in my lungs that just seemed to keep growing.

"You're at your limit," Urahara said again while I struggled to move. I'd heard that on many occasions as of late.

But on sheer will, I dug the frozen tip of my Zanpakuto into the ground, using it to help me balance. Beads of sweat gathered and trickled down the side of my face, and I rushed back to the sparring match between Toshiro and me. Even though my head was spinning from how quickly I stood up I still swung at him, but of course he caught my wrist and threw it to the side.

"Give it a rest," he ordered. "You're in no condition to keep going."

And with that, I fell flat on my face.

"No, dammit!" I yelled in defiance, but my voice broke halfway through. Even though I was facing the ground, I could tell all eyes were on me. "If I can't even land a hit on a captain, how will I be able to get Kaori back!"

Silence was the only thing that answered me. A response, a trickle of hope, even a dramatic remark from Shinji would do, but Shinji wasn't here, and no one was offering up the other options. I panted and coughed, nearly choking from the burning in my lungs. In case you at home are wondering, my whole body felt like it was on fire.

"Well, Toshiro, seeing as Kuzai is pretty much done for the day, would you mind doing me a small favor?" Urahara asked.

Turning my head to the side I watched Toshiro walk over to him and nod his head as Urahara spoke to him. Grumbling something that I couldn't hear from my position, Toshiro answered the man before leaving the training area.

Soon after that I feel asleep, and then found myself here.

Near the front of the store, getting talked into getting my ears pierced.

"Stay still!" Matsumoto whined as she tried to make me stop moving. I ducked and dodged the opposing needle.

Fun fact of the day everyone; I'm afraid of needles. Sewing needles, piercing needles, acupuncture needles, you name it and I'm scared of it. On many occasions Kaori had tried to talk me into getting them done and even though she was quite convincing with her reasoning – not to mention that Shinji with his tongue ring was backing her up – I declined.

So like I mentioned before, I was here, half asleep and running around the front of the store away from the big breasted lieutenant who only wanted to poke me with a sharp object.

Suddenly, Toshiro was in front of me. Freaking flash step.

"Matsumoto!" she stopped instantly to give him a blank stare. "Give me a second."

Toshiro moved his hand around in his pocket until he retrieved a snowflake shaped pendant and held it in front of my face. It was so shiny, and so pretty and I wanted it.

Wow. Sometimes I must come across as a little kid, plus my size didn't help matters. I guess I was born a month early – if I was born at all.

"Doo you want it? Toshiro inquired. How'd you know?

Nodding my head slightly, he opened the clasp and slowly put it around my neck.

Chin pinned tightly to my chest, I tried to look at the snowflake as he did it up, until I felt a sharp pain in my left ear. Wincing and cocking my head to the left, I soon felt the same pain in my right ear.

Hands clasped over my ears I glared at Toshiro who had finished placing the necklace on me. When Mastusmoto appeared behind him slowly spinning a needle in her hand, I redirected my glare at her.

Well ladies and gents, it seems I now am a not-so-proud owner of two ear piercings.

"Damn you, Rangiku!" I cried, then chased after her in attempt to retaliate.

**Third-Person POV: In Hueco Mundo**

Spinning around in a small circle, Kaori examined her new clothing.

No, it wasn't really new, but it was certainly better than wearing the same clothing that she had been since she got kidnapped.

The new clothing consisted of refitted articles of Grimmjow's wardrobe. It had been five days since she'd arrived here, and it was certainly about time that she got something clean to wear.

Well, it wouldn't have taken so long if Grimmjow had both of his arms to help out with the hemming process. A girl with a broken wrist and a man with one arm most definitely made a great sewing team.

The pants that she was wearing had taken a lot of time because of the current disabilities the pair had, and because of the fact that Grimmjow was eight inches taller than Kaori who stood at 5'5. Which made the amount of material that needed to be shortened, seem even longer.

The width of the pants had been quite a problem as well until they decided to use teamwork to tie the sash very tight around the top of the pants. Once that was done, Grimmjow fetched another one of his hakamas for Kaori to wear. Which opened up the topic of needing some kind of shirt.

A piece of clothing that Grimmjow over looked since he didn't wear one.

Sending Grimmjow out to grab another black sash used to tie the pants, Kaori wrapped it around her torso, over her back and left shoulder, around her torso again, and over her right shoulder. Which, after all the wrapping resulted in a tight fitting black shirt that was held up by a strap on both of her shoulders.

Slipping on the hakama, the latest version of Grimmjw's wardrobe was complete for Kaori's own use.

"Done." Kaori announced so that Grimmjow could turn back around since she had made him face the doorway with his hand covering his eyes.

Walking over to her corner, she sat down and watched as Grimmjow turned towards her, grunted, and walked around the empty room. A scar had replaced the tattooed six and where his arm should be was wrapped up by yet another sash.

He seemed to have tons of those.

Five days ago Grimmjow came storming into the blackened room before he leaned himself up against the doorway. Yelping a little, Kaori stayed glued in place trying to put the pieces together of what was happening.

She was stuck in place, mentally debating whether it was a good time to try and escape, or if it was just another stupid idea. Even now, she wasn't sure what a right decision would be in this place.

When the overwhelming scent of blood filled the air she slowly made her way over to him.

Reaching out towards him, he instinctively jerked away from her. Reaching out again, he only reacted by pushing himself further into the wall and letting a low growl emit from deep inside his throat.

Her eyebrows knitting together in frustration, she sat down in front of the man and glared out through her bangs. She glared at him for kidnapping her. She glared at him for being so rude. She glared at him for not accepting the fact that the bleeding needed to stop and that he needed her help.

They stayed that way for quite some time before Grimmjow let out a sigh and turned to meet her gaze.

Standing back up and carefully moving him so that he was leaning with his weight equally distributed up against the wall, she untied his black sash but made sure that he had his hand on the hem of his pants to keep them from falling down. Removing the hakama, she pressed the sash onto the wound to slow down the bleeding.

Once the flow of the crimson liquid started to slow its pace, she began wrapping the sash around the wound and then across his chest to make sure it stayed in place.

Without so much as another word, he left her in that dark room.

That night neither of them slept. Grimmjow only stared up at his ceiling while Kaori stayed huddled up in her corner and tried to process her conflicting thoughts.

And now she watched as he slowly removed the sash, all the while grunting in slight discomfort.

Turning on his heels and putting a hand up in a gesture for goodbye, he muttered "Business to attend to." Before he left Kaori to sit by herself. Again.

In the short time that she had been there, a lot of it could be divided into three parts. The times when Grimmjow was there and Kaori would talk and he would grunt back or the times when Grimmjow would leave and Ayano would pop in. There was also the times when Kaori would just sit in the room by herself and hope that no one besides those two people would show up in the doorway, but those times were a lot less interesting and she dreaded them.

Ayano had filled her in on many things since Grimmjow was lacking in that department. Apparently the last trip Ulquiorra went on into the world of the living was unsuccessful but he was getting ready to go on another. She also informed Kaori that many of the other female Arrancars in Las Noches were not pleased with the news that Aizen wanted a weak human girl. Other bits and pieces were discussed back and fourth but most of it Kaori couldn't comprehend since she didn't know too many people in Hueco Mundo.

"Well don't you look trendy!"

Looking up from her place in the corner, Kaori smiled at the Arrancar girl.

Grinning back, Ayano pressed herself up against the doorway and crossed her arms.

"Ulquiorra, Grimmjow and the other Espada are just watching an Arrancar birth. Oh, and Ulquiorra said that Aizen was planning on having another trip down to the living world happen sometime soon. My guess is that its going to happen once this Arrancar is finished."

Kaori nodded her head. Smirking, Ayano glanced around the room.

"Y'know, Grimmjow has his own room, with actual items in it. You should try and see if he'll let you stay in there while he's gone. And besides, that room actually has a functioning door."

The female Visored thought it over a bit then raised an eyebrow. "Why do you even tell me all these things?" The burnette was honestly puzzled why any Arrancar would tell a prisoner anything. Kaori very highly doubted it was for false hope.

"To make things around here.. Interesting." Ayano replied before turning away from the doorframe and taking her leave.

Watching from the corner, Kaori watched Ulquiorra walk past the doorway. He was heading the same direction that Ayano was.

Adorable.

But that cute thought was ruined when the sound of not so light footsteps met her ears and the blue haired Espada stormed back into the room.

Stopping at the doorway, he looked over Kaori's female copy of his attire. Looking up and meeting her gaze, he sauntered over before he held out a closed fist.

"Here."

Putting her left hand out in front of her, Kaori watched as Grimmjow placed a little black cube into her hand. Cocking her head to the side, she waited for an explanation.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he took a seat beside her.

"Just put that near or through a hollow hole of anyone who you think is a threat." Grimmjow stated while pointing to the little cube.

"But why-"

"Because you're useless." Grimmjow interrupted with a large grin. She wanted to tell him off and threaten to get the lollipop again, but then this wouldn't help her any.

Kaori's eyes narrowed. "I am not usele-" was all she managed to get out before the Espada gripped her right wrist. When she let out a small yelp, his grin turned into a sadistic smirk and he raised his eyebrow. "You're a sick bastard, you know that?"

"We're going to have to fix that when I get back. I can't have you training with one arm." He replied while completely ignoring her last statement.

Nodding her head in the direction of Grimmjow's missing arm, she raised an eyebrow.

"This, is different from this, when you're me." Grimmjow replied while he touched her shoulder followed by her hand.

While Kaori rolled her eyes, Grimmjow stood up and began to make his way across the room.

"Why do you even care so much?" Kaori inquired from the opposite side of the room.

"You can't have dead bait." Grimmjow answered as if Kaori had just asked why he had two heads.

Kaori paused for a moment. "You know Iim not exactly the best bait for Ichigo, right?"

"So I've heard." He mumbled while glaring at the floor in front of him.

"So why keep me ar-"

"Does it matter?" he hissed.

"I guess not.." Kaori admitted while subconsciously pressing herself further into the wall. She still had her doubts.

"I'm leaving." He announced as he walked closer to the doorway. Hearing a soft noise behind him he took a quick look over his shoulder. "What?" Grimmjow sighed before he turned on his heels and marched back over to Kaori.

"Well, since you're leaving and all, I was kinda wondering if I could maybe, possibly, stay in your room instead of in here." She quietly asked while looking up at the man through her bangs.

Grimmjow's mouth opened and closed several times – effectively making him look like a fish – before he let out one single word.

"No."

"And why not? You said it yourself, you don't want dead bait!"

"It's a completely different matter when it's coming from me."

"Bullshit!" she cursed while standing up.

"Shut the hell up!" he growled back at her while leaning down to be closer to her level.

"Make me!" Kaori screamed as she went slightly up on her toes to close the distance. Pressing their foreheads up against each other's they glared daggers. Neither one of them was going to back down.

"Am I.. Interrupting something?" a voice asked from the doorway.

Grimmjow snapped his head around to face the doorway in less than a second. A move that Kaori was sure would have given her whiplash. Speaking of which, just thinking of it made her dizzy.

"No!" he shouted at Ulquiorra who only blinked back at the response.

When Ulquiorra started to amble away, Kaori saw her chance. Pouncing onto Grimmjow's back and wrapping her arms around his neck, she started to wiggle.

Grunting in frustration, Grimmjow tried to toss Kaori off his back.

"Let me stay in your room!" She ordered while squirming some more.

When she received no response, she leaned forward and bit down on the top of his ear.

"Lfft may stey n err oom!"

Shaking his head around to loosen the grip only made Kaori bite down harder.

"If you don't let go, I will not hesitate to hit you with my Cero."

"Yeah right." Kaori stated when she paused mid-bite. She fought the irresistible urge to whisper 'tastes like chicken' just to piss him off even more.

Letting a deep growl come out from somewhere inside his throat, Grimmjow lifted his hand so that the palm faced over his shoulder. Watching the red light start to emit from his palm, Kaori planted her feet on the small of his back to gain some leverage to get away.

Only, her right foot never made contact with his body. Instead, it slipped right through the Espada's hollow hole, making Kaori's weight shift and shortly after made the Espada twitch slightly downward since Kaori still had her teeth gripping onto his ear.

The jerking motion screwing with Grimmjow's balance, Kaori watched as the Cero went straight past Grimmjow's shoulder and through the wall behind them. Not the best plan, but it kept her from being a Krispy Kaori.

Letting go of Grimmjow, Kaori slipped off of his back to admire his handy work. She let out a small whistle and clapped her hands as the smoke cleared.

The pair now stood in front of a giant hole about twenty feet in diameter. And if you math wizards want to know, the approximate circumference is sixty feet (twenty times three).

"So.. How about that room of yours?" She asked while turning to reveal a smirk.

Rubbing his face with his hand and grumbling something about dead bait, he walked out of the room. Unlike Kaori who followed closely behind with the swagger of a cripple because she was feeling awesome.

Entering a room about ten feet down the hall from her old 'room' Kaori grinned.

"Mother fucker, I'm awesome." She said in a slight sing-songy voice.

"No you're not dude don't lie?" Grimmjow asked as he turned around to face Kaori with a dumbfounded look. Geez, at least you can put a LITTLE enthusiasm into singing something that they both knew, Kaori thought grumpily, but hey, it was the best he could do she supposed!

The expression only made Kaori laugh as she walked around the larger room towards the bed. Sitting down on the bed and crossing her legs she smiled up at Grimmjow.

"Happy now?" he scoffed.

"Extremely." Kaori replied with a small head nod.

"Woot." He announced in fake enthusiasm and moved his index finger in a small circle motion. A small improvement, and Kaori wasn't complaining. "I'm leaving."

"Oh! One last thing!" Shaking his head, Grimmjow turned around. "Do you have any anti-cero-spray?"

"What?" Grimmjow demanded, double-taking at his captive and the floor.

"Anti-Cero spray," she repeated. "Ya' know, a spray that deflects a speeding Cero!"

"All out," he joked dryly, raising an eyebrow and giving her one last smirk before turning on his heels and walking out.

Kaori sat there dumbfounded. Did Grimmjow Jaegerjaques just tell a _joke_?

_Well, drop a review~_


End file.
